Boot camp aims to get more 'Women at Work'

Published
7:00 pm EST, Wednesday, November 11, 2009

By KARA O'CONNOR

Villager Staff Writer

WILTON -- Finding a job isn't half as easy as it used to be, says Wilton resident Pat Meserole

"This is not your mother's job search," said Meserole, who has been searching for a job for a number of months. "It's very different. You need to use every tool at your disposal and get all the help you can."

One program that helped Meserole re-energize her job search was the Women at Work Find-A-Job Boot Camp. She recommends the program to any woman who is returning to the job market or looking for a new job.

"This boot camp gave me a different perspective on searching for a job," said Meserole. "It reviewed the fundamentals of job searching, and that is very beneficial in terms of finding a job."

Eliza Shanley, co-founder of Wilton-based Women at Work, said November is the second month the organization has offered the Find-A-Job Boot Camp. Shanley said she got the boot camp idea after she realized that women who are actively looking for a job probably haven't gone on an interview in years, and reviewing the fundamentals of a job search is the first step in getting hired.

"We know in this economy that many people are actively looking for a job," she said. "This boot camp will go in depth to look at the entire job search and teach you different tactics that can work together under one strategy and help these women find the job they want."

The boot camp, which had a Tuesday session this week at Wilton's Old Town Hall, focuses on resumes and cover letters, creating a personal branding statement, finding individual skills and learning how to nail an interview. One of the most important skills Shanley teaches is how to create self confidence, she said.

"Every woman is different in terms of what they need to work on," said Shanley. "But self confidence is the key thing that every woman has to have during an interview and even in the job search process. When job seekers show they have self confidence, employers will notice that."

Attending the boot camp, Meserole realized there are more talented, strong women out there who are looking for jobs than she thought.

"I met a lot of great women at this program," said Meserole. "And that made me realize how many qualified women there are applying to the same job, which makes me realize that what is happening in the economy is bigger than me and I shouldn't take the job search so personally."

Because of the tremendous amount of positive responses from women who attended the program, Shanley said, Women at Work plans on having many more boot camps in the future.

"Obviously this program is hitting a chord with women who are actively searching for a job," she said. "Women at Work is going to have as many boot camps as we can to help as many women as we can. I just hope that this program gives these women the sort of boost that they need to keep going in their job search."